It’s not easy to get a coronavirus test in UK

People in the UK are turning to mail-order coronavirus tests as the government scrambles to offer mass public testing and get a hold on the virus’ spread across the country.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, recently returning to public life after testing positive for coronavirus, announced Thursday the UK would aim to test 100,000 Britons a day by the end of April.

Critics of the government’s stark U-turn on testing suggest it may have been spurred by about 8% of National Health Service (NHS) staff being off work because of Covid-19-related issues.

But at the moment, these government-funded tests by hospitals are unavailable to most people and are still reserved for those with severe symptoms and some health care workers.

In a tiny, airless office in Old Street in east London, the business Rightangled is offering a solution — at a price. The DNA testing firm is here hurriedly repurposing its DNA health testing kits to be mailed to customers for about £200 ($250) each. The coronavirus testing service sounds like a dream solution.

The kits arrive in the mail, you follow the video to take a swab from your throat, and send the sample back in a biohazard bag. The results come back around three days later.